News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

Christine Lagarde said the inflation outlook was 'fluid'

ECB's Lagarde insists inflation will stop rising

Food and energy prices in the euro zone should stop rising, which should help the euro zone avoid a combination of stagnant growth and high inflation feared by economists, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.

Business • 30 Mar 22

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that Europe is more exposed to the UKraine war than the US

Expect ECB, Fed to be out of sync - ECB's Lagarde

The world's two top central banks will move out of sync in the foreseeable future, as the war in Ukraine has vastly different effects on their economies, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today.

Business • 21 Mar 22

ECB President Christine Lagarde was wearing a badge in the Ukraine colours at today's ECB press conference

ECB speeds up stimulus exit despite Ukraine uncertainty

The European Central Bank will wind down asset purchases faster than it had planned, it said today, as high inflation is now likely to be more persistent, fuelled by soaring commodity prices and an increasingly tight labour market.

Business • 10 Mar 22

The European Central Bank has kept euro zone interest rates unchanged at record lows today - as expected

ECB keeps policy unchanged despite record inflation

The European Central Bank kept policy unchanged as expected today, curbing stimulus over the coming months but maintaining plenty of support for the economy even after inflation unexpectedly hit a fresh record high.

Business • 03 Feb 22

Inflation will be one of the key issues on the ECB's agenda this week

Euro zone economy - 5 questions for the ECB

Record euro area inflation rates mean price pressures will top the agenda for European Central Bank policymakers meeting on Thursday.

Business • 31 Jan 22

The ECB has said it considers a spike in inflation to be temporary

ECB dials back stimulus a notch but promises support

The European Central Bank cut support for the euro zone economy by another notch today but promised copious support for 2022, confirming its relaxed view on inflation and indicating that any exit from years of ultra-easy policy will be slow.

Business • 16 Dec 21

ECB puts on brave face as new virus variant spreads

European Central Bank policymakers have sought to reassure investors rattled by a new variant of the coronavirus, arguing that the euro zone's economy had learned to cope with successive waves of the pandemic.

Business • 29 Nov 21

Stephane Richard is the head of France's biggest telecoms company Orange

Orange CEO Richard given 1 year suspended jail sentence

Orange CEO Stephane Richard said today it was up to the board of France's biggest telecoms company to decide whether he should remain after a Paris appeal court convicted him of complicity of misuse of public funds.

Business • 24 Nov 21

Euro zone inflation rose 0.8% month-on-month in October, for a 4.1% year-on-year surge

Euro zone inflation confirmed at 4.1% on energy spike

Euro zone inflation surged to more than twice the European Central Bank's target in October, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat confirmed today, with more than half of the jump due to a spike in energy prices.

Business • 17 Nov 21

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde

Euro zone inflation will take longer to come down - ECB

Inflation in the euro zone will take longer to decline due to high energy prices and persistent supply chain bottlenecks, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today.

Business • 15 Nov 21

ECB very unlikely to raise rates next year - Lagarde

The European Central Bank is very unlikely to raise interest rates next year as inflation remains too low, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today.

Business • 03 Nov 21

ECB President Christine Lagarde said the bank had talked about 'inflation, inflation, inflation' at today's meeting

Lagarde suggests markets expecting rate hikes too soon

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has today pushed back against market bets that runaway inflation would force a rate hike as early as next year, reaffirming the view that price pressures would ease by then.

Business • 28 Oct 21

No rate changes from European Central Bank today

ECB pledges to keep rates low until inflation hits 2%

The European Central Bank said today that interest rates would stay at their current record low levels until it sees inflation "durably" reaching the bank's new target of 2%.

Business • 22 Jul 21

Christine Lagarde said the ECB's Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme - worth up to €1.85 trillion - could transition into a new format after March 2022

ECB to change policy guidance at next meeting

The European Central Bank will change its guidance on the next policy steps at its next meeting to reflect its new strategy and show it is serious about reviving inflation, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in an interview today.

Business • 12 Jul 21

The ECB has redefined its inflation target, which was seen by some as confusing

ECB sets new inflation target after 18 month review

The European Central Bank has set a new inflation target and claimed a role in fighting climate change after a strategy review that marks the biggest overhaul to date of Europe's most powerful financial institution.

Business • 09 Jul 21

The European Central Bank today kept euro zone interest rates steady

ECB lifts euro zone growth and inflation projections

The European Central Bank said today it would continue to run its emergency bond purchases at a higher pace than at the beginning of the year.

Business • 10 Jun 21

The ECB's deposit rate remains at -0.5% and the main rate steady at 0% after today's meeting

ECB sticks with euro zone stimulus plans

The European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy unchanged as expected today, providing the pandemic-stricken currency bloc with record stimulus even as an accelerating vaccination campaign raises hopes for a rebound.

Business • 22 Apr 21

Lagarde warns stimulus may take some time to show up

The European Central Bank may need some time before the recently agreed acceleration in the pace of money printing becomes apparent, ECB President Christine Lagarde said today.

Business • 18 Mar 21

No interest rate changes from European Central Bank today

ECB to boost emergency bond buys, keeps rates unchanged

The European Central Bank said today it was going to boost its bond purchases over the next quarter as it attempts to keep borrowing costs low for a euro zone economy still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Business • 12 Mar 21

Philip Lane held private discussions with a select group of economists from the world's biggest banks

ECB reconsidering Lane's private calls with investors

The European Central Bank is considering whether chief economist Philip Lane should continue to hold private calls with investors after policy meetings, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

Business • 23 Jan 21

No rate changes from the European Central Bank today

ECB reaffirms pledge to support economy through Covid

The European Central Bank warned today that a new surge in Covid-19 infections poses risks to the euro zone's recovery and reaffirmed its pledge to keep borrowing costs low to help the economy through the pandemic.

Business • 21 Jan 21

ECB forecasts stand if lockdowns lift by March - ECB

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has today pushed back against economic pessimism, arguing that a rebound will come as pandemic uncertainty declines.

Business • 13 Jan 21

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde

ECB chief Lagarde calls for unlocking EU aid

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has called on European Union leaders to end a potentially damaging budget impasse and unlock aid for a region that is facing a severe hit from the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Business • 19 Nov 20

ECB chief Christine Lagarde says uncertainty remains about the Covid-19 vaccine

Fed, ECB heads cautious despite Covid vaccine hopes

The heads of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank welcomed the encouraging results in trials of a vaccine candidate for the novel coronavirus but stressed that the economic outlook will remain uncertain.

Business • 13 Nov 20

ECB keeps stimulus unchanged but hints at more action

The European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy unchanged today but hinted at more support in December for a euro zone economy struggling with a fresh wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Business • 29 Oct 20